Dive Brief:
- Capri Sun is bringing single-serve bottles to the juice brand for the first time in 20 years in February. The Kraft Heinz-owned beverage brand said the resealable packaging will serve on-the-go consumers and that it has no plans to discontinue its popular pouch.
- The 12-ounce bottles are largely targeted at convenience stores, where the company said purchasing a beverage for immediate consumption is the No. 1 reason for visits. Kraft Heinz said parents buy their kids beverages more than half the time they enter C-stores. The Capri Sun bottles also will be sold at grocery stores and vending machines nationwide.
- Capri Sun is the latest brand to move further into portability amid shopper demand. Last September, Nestlé’s Nespresso launched its first ready-to-drink coffee in U.S. to tap into the growing popularity of RTD offerings and further extend its reach outside of the home and office.
Dive Insight:
While pouches may work for the time around the pool or watching TV at home, bottles are less prone to spilling and expand the number of occasions when people could consume Capri Sun.
Another major difference between the bottle and the pouch is size.
The bottle contains 12 ounces of juice, or the equivalent of two pouches. The bigger size will further address on-the-go consumption since consumers often aren’t conveniently located near a place to buy a beverage or have the time to stop. It’s also going to appease parents, who often buy products for their children, because they prefer bottles when their kids are drinking on the go, Kraft Heinz noted.
The bottles will be available in the brand's most popular flavors: Fruit Punch, Pacific Cooler and Strawberry Kiwi.
“The launch of Capri Sun Bottles underscores our commitment to innovation by introducing a new
format that meets the evolving needs of today’s families on the go,” Kristina Hannant, Capri Sun’s director of marketing, said in a statement. “This reflects our strategy to meet our consumers where they are while bringing the same taste and quality they love.”
Packaging is proving to be one key part of Kraft Heinz’s strategy to innovate Capri Sun. The company rolled out 96-ounce multi-serve bottles in 2024 in response to consumer requests for a larger size. Two years earlier, Kraft Heinz cut sweetener levels by an average of 40% as parents focused on curtailing their children’s sugar intake.
